DEARBORN — Hundreds of local residents gathered outside of the Henry Ford Centennial Library on Wednesday, August 14, to condemn the massacre that occurred in Cairo earlier that day, when the country’s military regime, aided with snipers and bulldozers, left close to 500 protestors dead and over 1,000 injured as of Thursday.  

Nations across the world have publicly condemned the action of Egypt’s security forces after they stormed through crowds on Wednesday to end sit-ins by thousands of supporters of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. The chain of events snowballed into chaos and street battles in the region, leading Interim President Adly Mansour to declare a state of emergency. 

At the Dearborn protest, many participants appeared visibly upset over what has transpired in Egypt, agreeing that the actions of the Egyptian military serve as yet another attempt to stifle the country’s democratic process. 

Chanting statements that included “Army rule out the door,” “Morsi is chief of state,” and “stop the killing, stop the hate,”  many Egyptian-Americans agreed that the actions that transpired in Egypt were signs of a military coup and are calling for the U.S. to put pressure on Egypt’s military rulers.

Hundreds of locals protested in Dearborn against the massacre that occured in Cairo.

Leading several of the chants was local Egyptian-American student Sarah Al-Sayed, who says that Egyptians elected President Morsi in a democratic process for the first time and his removal last month was not a sign of a revolution.

“We are individuals who are against the massacre in Egypt. I am here to support human rights and democracy in the country. I would like to tell the millions of Egyptians who are supporting Morsi as a symbol of democracy to stay strong and stay peaceful. I also want to tell the U.S. administration to stop beating around the bush and to announce that this is a coup. It’s time that they support democracy in Egypt,” Al-Sayed says.

Some locals pointed out that the mainstream media has been biased in their coverage of the events. Many news outlets are reporting that protestors were the ones who ignited the battles, with use of weapons on military officials, leaving the military no other option but retaliation. 

One local Egyptian American claimed that those reports are inaccurate, because he’s spoken to individuals in the region who witnessed the bloodshed. 

“Snipers on top of buildings started shooting into the crowds, bulldozers then came out and began running over women and kids who were inside tents. One army tank ran over a woman and her child, while they were eating. It was nothing but blood and gore,” one local said over a speaker phone. 

The White House commented on the incident on Wednesday, telling the Egyptian military to show some restraint.

“We have repeatedly called on the Egyptian military and security forces to show restraint and for the government to respect the universal rights of its citizens, just as we’ve urged protesters to demonstrate peacefully,” said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

One local man, Mohamed Elfakharany, says the statements released by the White House are a step in the right direction, but it is still not enough.

“We are calling on the administration here to use its influence in the Middle East to stop those military leaders from exercising more violence against peaceful protestors. It’s well known that the U.S. administration provides the Egyptian army with $1.3 billion dollars in military aid, so the first step to consider is to cut off all forms of military aid to the army,” Elfakharany said. 

Egypt has faced political turmoil since a 2011 uprising that ended a 30-year regime by former President Hosni Mubarak. Mosri became the country’s first elected leader in 2012, but his attempts to impose stronger Islamic rule outraged secular and Christian Egyptians, resulting in military forces having to step in and topple him.